| Sol Negro | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Label | Natasha [1] Hannibal [2] | |||
| Producer | Caetano Veloso, Celso Fonseca | |||
| Virginia Rodrigues chronology | ||||
| ||||
Sol Negro is the debut album by the Brazilian musician Virginia Rodrigues. [3] [4] It was released in 1997. [5] The album peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's World Albums chart. [6]
The album was produced by Caetano Veloso and Celso Fonseca; Veloso had "discovered" the singer at a rehearsal. [3] [7] Djavan, Milton Nascimento, and Gilberto Gil contributed to the album. [8] [9] The berimbau was used on several tracks. [10] A few songs are tributes to Rodrigues's Candomblé religion. [11]
Rodrigues sang a cappella on "Verônica". [12] "Manhã de Carnaval" is a cover of the Luiz Bonfá song; "Noite de Temporal" is a cover of the Dorival Caymmi song. [13] [14] "Adeus Batucada" was made famous by Carmen Miranda. [15]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [16] |
| Robert Christgau | B− [17] |
| Edmonton Journal |  [13] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [18] |
| MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide | [19] |
JazzTimes wrote that "Rodrigues’s contralto voice is otherwordly, spiritual, exquisite." [12] Robert Christgau noted that she "never stretches her rich, Ella-like highs into a scat—though the few midtempo numbers have a nice jazzy lilt ... her instincts are exceedingly solemn." [17] Rolling Stone stated: "The ancient and the modern, the secular and the sacred seamlessly mingle in this document of Brazilian musical forms." [20]
Miami New Times deemed the album "a simultaneously somber and uplifting cycle of songs focused on the African experience in Brazil." [21] The New York Times concluded that "the record is both modern and roots-conscious in the best ways that Brazilians know how to be: it swings from Roman Catholic church music to carnaval sambas, ancient Afro-Brazilian drum patterns to sophisticated wind-and-string arrangements, all sculpted with delicate care." [22] The Chicago Tribune considered Sol Negro to be the eighth best album of 1998. [23]
AllMusic wrote that Rodrigues's "first major recording succeeds in juxtaposing her ability to carry both lilting Brazilian rhythms and slow harmonious melodies. [16]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Negrume da Noite" | |
| 2. | "Lua, Lua, Lua, Lua" | |
| 3. | "Adeus Batucada" | |
| 4. | "Manhã de Carnaval" | |
| 5. | "Verônica" | |
| 6. | "Noite de Temporal" | |
| 7. | "Terra Seca" | |
| 8. | "Nobreza" | |
| 9. | "Sol Negro" | |
| 10. | "Querubim" | |
| 11. | "Israfel" |